Knowing nothing about the contracts of the following players, I think these would be the guys I would take who can either make the squad or be used as trade bait depending on who else Seattle has in the pipeline. Typically my idea is to take young guys who have shown flashes of potential, or back ups who could be serviceable squad players and some leadership

Why do these teams protect their designated player? Seattle isn’t likely to trade for a designated player when they already have Keller and Ljungberg on their salary cap. So if you make the DP available, you can keep one other player that you like…right?

my quick picks from each team. I have a hunch Chicago has a hidden gem or two from their reserve squad. I didn’t initially see Pappa listed. Colorado has some decent defenders (Keel, Harvey). Funny how KC starts Wahl over Hohlbein then leaves them both unprotected. Chicago protects Robinson over Prideaux. Colorado protects Peterson over Cooke. I feel vindicated on those 2. Pitchkolan is the no-brainer of the expansion draft. I’d focus on getting guys with trade value or guys that can be cut in preseason. Houston and RSL have some nice players available.

I know Seattle can’t take someone from EVERY team. Chivas, DC, and LA might be teams to pass over. San Jose has some unknowns that require scouting. Is O’Brien willing to move yet again? Play on turf? I’d ask first before he retired on me.

Why do these teams protect their designated player? Seattle isn’t likely to trade for a designated player when they already have Keller and Ljungberg on their salary cap. So if you make the DP available, you can keep one other player that you like…right?

Posted by: Ethan

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If you expose your DP then you create a situation where Seattle takes that player on behalf of another team that they arrange a trade with.

What are the rules on multiple players from one team? Because there are 4 good picks from Columbus – Evans ($33k), Moffat ($18k), Gaven ($167), and Noonan ($175k). And I still think Jason Garey is going to score goals in the league.

Is Pappa really available? Fire fans are going to go nuts. I’d take him in a heartbeat at $35k.

Evans, Ashe, and Pappa would be an awesome trio for $100k!

In general, there seem to be many more quality MF’s than defenders, so I bet a lot of guys are going to be drafted to be dealt later. I guess you’d have to call Ian Joy or Wade Barrett the best defensive help, but there are a lot of young cheap midfielders I’d snatch first.

I have been updating that page with the list of protected players as well as the unprotected.

The lists here (which were sent out by MLS) seem to have a couple errors. Boss and Cichero were obviously not protected, but are missing. So that likely means one of Kandji or Rojas was their last man protected, and one of them isn’t.

Angula and Matamoros for NE aren’t even on their roster as far as I know.

hopefully they dont take him and take Stephen King. He is a good player and only makes 12K a year. This situation reminds me alot of Ivan Guerrero last year with Osorio not liking him so he left him unprotected and hes gone. I cant believe he is unprotected.

how does it work? Can they just snatch anyone they want, or do they need to factor in costs? How many per team. Well, without knowing anything but the fact that there is a list, ante razov stands out the first to me as someone getting snatched up…. Someone, Ives, please explain more.

Matamoros is Mauricio Castro, a pretty skilled winger. Good dead ball skills. Decent service. Not great defense. Tiny guy. Took over corners and free kicks when Ralston went out. Could be worth it for Seattle.

Angulo is Ives’ boy Jose Angulo, the teenage prodigy from New Jersey that the Revs put a discovery claim on and everybody in New York got pissy about it. Talented kid, but I heard he’s been hurt and he got fat and skipped a couple practices so New England isn’t as high on him anymore.

The fact that Lider Marmol is unprotected is, I think, just hilarious and I like it. I DO NOT like the fact that my projected 09 MVP, Marco Pappa, IS ALSO unprotected. I want to believe that the Fire F.O. know something that we obviously do not and know that SFC won’t pick him up. If that’s not the case…

Haha as much as i love my quakes its awesome that we do not have that much depth this year. The only blow to our team is if Ronnie O’ Brian gets picked but i doubt if a turf team like Seattle would go for the often knee injured guy. Awesome!

Umm, Parke isn’t protected for the same reason I wouldn’t have bothered with Conway. Think RBNY is gambling that Seattle won’t take a player that will have to sit out games to start the season. They’ll need immediate contributions. That said, with the playoff run what is the suspension down to? 4 more games?

Given that Maykel Galindo is protected, I would expect Seattle to make a pick that caters to Chivas’s needs in order to trade for him. I’m still convinced that they are interested in him, and he would definitely bring a dynamic component to their offense.

Otherwise, I definitely see them picking Pappa. Another interesting pick would be Quavas Kirk from DC.

As noted above Matamoros is really Mauricio Castro. Speculation is that because filed the Discovery claim on Angulo they still held his rights and would have to protect them/expose them. Same deal with Argenis Fernandez who spent most of the year on loan to Alajuelense back in Costa Rica.

They don’t need to pick Jaqua; his deal to return to Houston stipulated that he’d be free to sign w/ Seattle this year.

That gives you a core of those 11 guys (counting Jaqua) plus Le Toux, Sanna Nyassi, Keller, and Ljungberg… which equals a sturdy, reliable veteran defense, and a young midfield/attack with some upside.

I’m also assuming they intend to use Ljungberg on the wing. If they move his creaky old legs to the middle of the pitch, I’d take Gaven over Moffat.

If The Crew lose Gaven (and his high contract number) they plug in Ekpo. Lose Evans or Moffat? Plug in the other one, or Pat Noonan. Lose Noonan? He might retire, since he specifically wanted Columbus to be in the Midwest b/c of his wife’s family. Lose Garey? He’s not a starter, though he’s probably in the succession plan once Moreno moves on (he’s getting older, y’know).

Marco Pappa is not really that good. He can only play 2 or 3 minutes at the end of a game (according to Hamlett’s subs) and he has family in Chicago, which means he will whine in Seattle the way Osorio did in Chicago. On top of all this brandon prideaux is one of the best, fastest, most technically sound and offensively inclined right backs you could ask for. I’d really hate to seem him go, but alas some one must.

1. Vaughn or Zotinca from Chivas – good players whom spent much of the year hurt.

2. Ray Burse from Dallas – good prospect whom will eventually replace Keller.

3. Mike Petke – Colorado, solid defender. Other possibilities are Terry Cooke or Greg Dalby from Colorado. Aging but brilliant English crosser or top prospect.

4. Pat Noonan from Columbus – I don’t care how much he costs. He is a successful, American striker.

5. Craig Waibel, Wade Barrent or Patrick Ianni from Houston. The former two can produce now and Ianni is a good prospect. I’d go with Waibel.

6. Abe Thompson – KC – Another good, young, cheap American striker.

7. Chris Klein – LA – One of the steadier players on LA this year. A bit long in the tooth but still productive and versitile.

8. Chris Tierney – New England. Natural lefties are rare.

9. Jeff Parke – NY – Avoiding the steroid jokes, he’s a good player if you leave him in the center of a four man defence. He is not a fullback as Osorio kept trying. He’d make a good tandem with Petke.

10. Ned Grabovoy – SJ – Talented distributer.

So you have:

FW – Noonan / Thompson / La Toux

Mid – Lungburg, Grabavoy (when Lungburg is hurt), Klein, Nyassi

Def – Tierney, Parke, Petke, Vaughn/Waibel

Goal – Keller, Burse

Not a bad start. THe defense should be solid and the offense has hope.

Need a left mid and a defensive mid. The latter will be easy to get, the former is tougher.

I wont try to predict who seattle will take, for all i know they’ve only got freddie right now…but – leaving out salaries and health assessments which im not researching for this exercise – my first-pass list might be, if i was seattle:

Ante Razov

Eddie Gaven

Pat Noonan

Duilio Davino

Corey Ashe

Kevin Hartman

Diego Jimenez

Wells Thompson

Dema Kovalenko

Jeff Parke

other thoughts, if i were to drop a few $$$ players here and build: Ricketts, Victorine, Carr, Lenhart, Klein

After thinking Eddie Gaven would be a lock, I realize Seattle has their DP playing his position already. Also folks, keep in mind if Seattle takes a developmental player, they are required to bump them to a senior contract, which will probably discourage them from taking a flyer on some of them.

The more I think about it, the more I think Brad Evans is by far the most salivating option. He’s young, affordable, and worked the middle for the Cup/Shield winners. Gaven doesn’t fit the way Evans would and would cost a bundle more.

If Seattle takes anyone from Chicago, it will be Prideaux, King or Woolard. Banner and Pappa have tons of potential and provided a spark when Chicago was losing, but neither has demonstrated that they can do anything more than provide an offensive spark when the Fire are losing (which is much easier for a quick, offensive-minded player to do after everyone else on the pitch has played 70+ minutes and the other team is holding onto a lead).

Of course, Seattle could be looking for a few energy guys to come off the bench, in which case Banner or Pappa definitely fit the bill.

Please, Please, Please Seattle, take Wells Thompson from the Revs. I can’t bare watching him fumble the ball away any more. I promise he will be the nicest hardworking guy on your team and you’ll love him.

But do not take:

Badilla (because we need him to replace Parkhurst)

Manzenelli (he’s going to be somebody)

Tierney (he will be a natural left back for an aging and out of place Heaps)

And as much as Khano is frustrating, we need to have him on the left wing.

so wait, how is angulo exposed if he doesn’t have a contract with NE? Does he have one? Or do they still just have his discovery rights?is that enough for him to be exposed to an expansion draft if he isn’t even on your roster? Well if it is enough, I’d say a smart move for New England who have their discovery rights expiring in december, leaving angulo free to go to any team. I still don’t get why they would put him on there, especially if he’s the talent everyone says he is…

Ives, Thanks for the site and keep up the good work. What are the mechanics of the Exp Draft? When Seattle picks a player, e.g. Gaven in rd 1 from Columbus, does that mean all other Columbus players are safe? Do all the other teams get to add an additional player to their protected list?

1. Wow–Seattle is going to be bad! Well, at least they aren’t going to get much talent from the expansion list. I think if Seattle is smart, they won’t use all 10 picks.

2. No–don’t take Razov. If you’re willing to spend $250k, you can find someone younger, faster and healthier. No Gaven. For $160k you can find a central American player who’ll give you just as much, maybe even more. No Pappas. Players on loan (like Kandji, like Pappas) will need to be purchased. If you have to purchase a player, why waste an expansion slot on them? That’s silly.

3. If Seattle is smart, they’ll choose Petke and Marmol with the intention of keeping neither, and then deal both to RBNY for allocation money or picks. Petke supposedly wants to finish his career here, he’s a standup guy and great team leader, and we all know how JCO lusts after Marmol. They’ll choose Prideaux and Jaqua. Both of those guys hail from Seattle, are worthy MLS starters on an expansion team, aren’t too expensive and have enough experience that they’ll be decent team leaders. Maybe you choose Rod Dyachenko who is a young, cheap MLS veteran who hails from Vancouver WASHINGTON and can play a couple of attacking roles (viewing him as an initial starter but long-term a #13 or #14 player on the bench).

Then you choose a young veteran GK making little money. Ray Burse? Steve Cronin maybe? A guy to give you depth, not give much of a cap hit and learn behind Kasey Keller. Or maybe you gamble you can sign someone at 30k who’ll be as good as Burse or Cronin so you pass on the GK option.

After that, you look for MLS minimum salaries of AMERICAN players (so no international restrictions) who are young. Evans from Columbus is a no-brainer. Maybe, just maybe you go for James Riley who is relatively young, cheap, very fast, and versatile but will never be anything but mediocre. Abe Thompson isn’t MLS minimum salary but he’s a young, comparatively cheap American MLS vet who would be a pick for your first forward off the bench or late-game addition when you’re down a goal and go to 3 forwards.

Maybe you take a gamble at Parke who would start for an expansion team, isn’t that expensive but will miss initial games (and a team with no depth really can’t afford that).

Otherwise, the only other way (if I was Seattle’s GM) I keep picking is if there are great athletes making MLS minimum salary who are young, American, and are more than Calen Carr (ie: periennial scrubs who underperform–to be honest, James Riley might fall into that category as might my recommendation of Dyachenko). And if Seattle doesn’t go for Jaqua, then they go for Corey Ashe.

Why would LA trade for Kirovski who makes over $200K a year. I certainly hope that they are negotiating a new contract for him. I have nothing against the guy, but what has he done to deserve this sort of pay check at his age (31 or 32)? I’m not a fan of LA, but you better have players that can deliver if they are being paid over a certain amount.

Good point on having to play all these young cheap players. San Jose didn’t spend all their money before the season which allowed them to pick up some really good players during the season. I don’t think that is the way to do it (they should have picked up some good international players prior to the season), but they were prepapered to take advantage of having some money to pick up some good players because they weren’t stuck with too much large value. You can’t spend all your money during the expanision draft. Seattle has already spent some huge money on Freddie and Kasey so they need some cheap good players.

I think the club most likely to get burned is Columbus with Eddie Gaven almost assuredly to be picked up by Seattle.

He does come with a price tag, i.e. a contract worth $165,000 per year and the possibility of a move abroad. But here is the benefit to Seattle. If he is picked up and stays one more year in MLS (he is a six year veteran at age 22), has a good year for the Sounders, Seattle will benefit from his move abroad. They will get allocation money and other compensation.

Athority–you mis-state the SJ situation. SJ didn’t get good until they went out and used their allocations wisely. Plus they lucked out immensely with Darren Huckerby. If you look at ALL expansion teams in the MLS, what you find is the two teams that did the best (SJ who was dreadful for a lot of the season) and Chicago did get some good expansion picks but mostly, their teams were carried by international players they acquired from overseas (Nowak, Kosecki, Podbrozny, etc.). And Cannon proves my point EXACTLY. He wasn’t taken in the expansion draft. He was traded for.

Justin, put down the crack pipe. Look at that lineup you proposed of the people you had Seattle selecting. It might be the worst backline in the MLS. Parke is fine. But Erpen? Prideaux is a solid journeyman. A midfield of Ricketts, Castro and Gaven isn’t bad IF you….(a) add a DP-quality A-mid and then (b) use an allocation on a quality D-mid (someone of Edu quality).

If you look at MLS history, teams that rely on the expansion draft to provide a lot of starters are traditionally terrible teams. I think the attitude needs to be:

–preserve cap space

–use the draft to acquire draft picks or allocations

–if 1 or 2 players are available that fit your system perfectly (ala Joe Cannon) than you pick them or trade for them. Otherwise, the vast majority of the players made available are guys with major holes in their game (James Riley) or contract issues (Parke) or health issues (Olsen).

The USL side has been touring Argentina and scouts have been around the world for almost a year.

Remember that these guys knocked off multiple MLS squads in the US Open for a few years running.

It’s likely the team has signed more players, but didn’t want to tip their hand before the other MLS teams were forced to decide which 11 to protect.

I think the draft can yield some talent, but don’t fool yourself into thinking the heart of Sounders FC is going to be coming from the expansion draft. I’d be surprised if more than three or four of next season’s starters are from the expansion draft.

Would hate to lose Waibel as he is strong in the air and good on set pieces. Although I love the guy, I wouldn’t be too upset to see Barrett go. Dynamo needs some younger, faster defenders, and this list definitely reflects that reality.

Hate to see Chabala on here though as I think he is up-and-coming. Amazing how Ianni’s stock has fallen — remember he was on our Olympic team this summer, although I don’t think he ever saw the field.

Please take Caig off our hands — he is garbage. Leave us Onstad for another year.

I wonder who would take the Captain’s armband if Barrett goes — seems like Clark and DeRo are both too volatile for that role.

So, what is happening with Jaqua??? Lots of rumors flying around. Is there some sort of deal for Seattle to draft him?

It’s been long known that Nate was coming to Seattle. He’s from the Eugene, OR and the word around here was that he wouldn’t agree to return to Houston until it was agreed he could move to Seattle upon the expansion.

Us Sounder fans are disappointed that it looks like it’s going to be via the draft. We were hoping he’d come on a free transfer.

Sammy Sounder–actually, if Seattle has 3-4 guys from the expansion draft starting for your team most of the season than you don’t make the playoffs. If your team has 1-2 guys from the expansion draft as starters then that probably means that your USL guys, your allocations/foreign signings and your draft picks went well. And that would mean you’d have a strong team.

As for the Seattle USL talent you cite–don’t get your hopes up. Most of those guys have been in MLS camps before. For instance, Vancouver this year was full of MLS rejects (Justin Moose? ) Doesn’t mean they’re bad players. It means they’re mostly role-players. Take Kandji who tore up the USL this year and is also a fantastic athletic–he didn’t start for a team that backed into the playoffs and had a losing record (RBNY).

Now Seattle might have a strong team next year. But it won’t be because of players chosen in the expansion draft. And it won’t be because of your Sounders players you’ve added (you give you depth–something most expansion teams don’t have). Your season is going to be determined by Ljundberg, Keller, your draftees, any trades you make, and your other foreign signings. That is how Chicago did so well their first year. And that’s how SJ got respectable at times.